This is the Legend of the Motorcycle overall Concours winner from the 2006 event, a Crocker with a near-perfect restoration. The photo was taken the weekend following the Concours that May, on a pre-1916 ride (I know, it’s later than that, but I was on a post-16 as well) near the famous Pozo Saloon. The owner – Mike Madden – rode the machine with gusto, scraping the footboards on the twisty roads (guess all those ‘fast Crocker’ stories were about straight-line races!), and generally enjoying the heck out of his historic machine. Not all show winners are trailer queens!Mike Madden’s 1938 Crocker Big Tank, an immaculate machine that still gets ridden! [Paul d’Orleans]
For more on Crocker motorcycles, read ‘The Crocker Story’ here. It’s a fascinating tale of one man’s aspirations becoming legendary with time.
Paul d’Orléans is the founder of TheVintagent.com. He is an author, photographer, filmmaker, museum curator, event organizer, and public speaker. Check out his Author Page, Instagram, and Facebook.
